


Alternative Universe

by VictorianLesbian



Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: F/F, Pre-Episode: s07e14 The Name Of The Doctor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-09-04
Updated: 2014-09-28
Packaged: 2018-02-16 03:16:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 10,616
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2253804
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VictorianLesbian/pseuds/VictorianLesbian
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The world as Jenny knows it is starting to crumble. Her convictions give way under the weight of her new circumstances. Maybe the things that are, aren't quite as they should be.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Jenny, Vastra, Strax and any other DW character does not belong to me, I write for fun, not for profit.
> 
> written by: VictorianLesbian  
> translated by: Spooky85

When looking at her in passing, Jenny Flint looked like an ordinary girl; long black hair, dark eyes, a lean physique and short stature. But if one bothered to look more closely they'd see passion on her face and her propensity to get into trouble.  
She had been feeling strangely restless for a few days, even though her days at the intergalactic combat academy were so full of lessons and studying that very little time was left for reflection.  
It was summer and like every other summer, for the past four years, she was waiting for the arrival of someone. The man who had taken her away from the smelly and rough streets of New London, where she was nothing more than cannon fodder for local gangs who enjoyed peddling and raping women in the slums, just to have sink in the message that society didn't care for those who lived in the Zero Level. That they weren't even seen or taken into account by those who lived on the upper levels.  
She had dreamed as a child that her life would change, until at fifteen years of age she had said enough. She had rebelled against that hellish life and when the gang in his neighborhood had decided to sell her as a slave she had fled. But not before knocking the guard out with a steel pipe. She would have been killed for it if they had managed to catch up with her And they would have had it not been for that mysterious blue box popping out of nowhere with that rather bizarre little man inside; a worn out too long coat, spiky hair and running shoes. Doctor, he had called himself, and he had taken her away, among the stars, leaving her in the care of the very institute that forged the best warriors in the galaxy.  
He had taken care of everything, he apparently was a sort of mentor or hero and the school owed him a great debt. She was enrolled without many questions asked on either her or her origins.  
They were called the Doctor's Army, each human at the academy had been brought there by that same man with the kind smile. There weren't many of them, there was her, Martha, Amy and Rory. Humans weren't generally accepted at the school, being considered by may too fragile and weak. She had studied as hard as her classmates, however, and even though she was the youngest in her class she had given a hard time to many of them.  
Her family had sold for a song to those scoundrels, too many children to support, and she was the oldest, they could do without her, so she spent her vacations with the sweet man and his TARDIS. But not that summer.  
Something had happened, the day before everyone had left for their house, she had been sent a note saying that for that year the Doctor wouldn't come for her, that he was deeply sorry but that he had important business to attend to. She had taken that so hard she had cried for days. In the by now deserted school there were just her and a handful of professors. She would eat with them and spend her days training with her sword, or simply perched on one of the schoolyard's brick walls, just lost in her thoughts.  
Lately things had started to get strange, it was as if there were holes in her memory, and the more she tried to force herself to remember, the more those memories vanished into thin air, became cigarette burns in her timeline.  
She tried to remember the neighbourhood she grew up in but every time her attention was focused on a point, a door, or even just a face, they disappeared from her memory, leaving her frustrated and making her feel even more alone.  
There was only one living thing that could make her feel better: the vice-headmistress Madame Vastra.  
There was something about that woman, something that Jenny was trying to find in her mind, but that seemed to be like all the other memories, inconsistent and evanescent. She would often encounter her in the deserted hallways. The school was huge with its halls, library, canteen and student housing, yet they always ran into each other in the same place.  
If Jenny had not been too busy figuring out why her memories were so confused and vague, she would have surely noticed those strange coincidences.  
There was barely more than a week to the beginning of classes, Jenny could not wait to see her friends, she was missing the company enormously, and for as much as everyone had been kind to her, in the bottom of their eyes she could see the compassion they felt for the small human Jenny Flint, abandoned by everyone and wanted by no one. Only Madame looked at her differently, outwardly she would treat her coldly but she knew that her behaviour was not rude, she urged her to go on her way, never give up. She was a warrior who regarded her as an equal, and didn't consider her to be one of the Doctor's trained monkeys as did the others.  
One afternoon Madame sat beside her. Jenny almost had a heart attack, she had not heard her coming. As soon as she turned her gaze and saw her, beautiful and proud admiring the garden with melancholy, she looked away embarrassed.  
«There are only two things that this cloister inspires: peace and quiet, but I do not feel either of those in you, Jenny Flint.»  
Vastra wouldn't look her way and apparently Jenny had been wrong in her first belief that the woman had not even seen her sitting there or otherwise she would never have sat down with her.  
«That's correct ma'am. There is something that prevents me to be.» It was probably the first time they had spoken to one another. She was the best sword teacher of the entire institute, but aside from rare occasions it wasn't her who taught the lesson for she had to administer the school, the principal was never there, it is even rumoured that there was none at all and she was the actual headmistress. The cold Silurian incapable of feelings, who killed without hesitation and had not a shred of remorse, who hated every living being, feeling superior to everyone, or so people said.  
But Jenny had never listened to the rumours that portrayed her as a cold and heartless monster, her gaze was the most gentle and calm that she had ever met. There was no greed or evil intent in them, only an intense serene blue sea.  
«I'd like that, if you had anything to say, you'd tell me.» Vastra had finally turned to look at her straight in the eye, with such conviction that the young woman felt almost the urge to run away, it was as if she had caved in her and knew of her restlessness.  
Jenny opened her mouth and closed it immediately, she could not tell her that her nights had become unusually agitated for some time, she dreamt of a different life, a life not hers. Horses and carriages, cobblestone streets and old-fashioned clothes that she had only seen in books of old photographs of Earth, all of which did not exist in the new world.  
«I will. Thank you ma'am.» She said and both went back to their quiet and silent sitting on the wall one next to the other like marble statues, until a movement in the bushes attracted their attention.  
Jenny looked instinctively to the adult who motioned for her to sit still and be quiet, the Silurian was awake and alert, she drew her sword with an elegance that Jenny found celestial and crouched behind a marble column.  
Jenny followed her at a distance, not wanting to be a hindrance, but yearned to watch her idol while she used the sword, she longed to become at least half as good as her teacher, for that would still have made her the best swordswoman on New Earth.  
The thing moved from one corner to the next without giving Jenny the time to understand where it was, but Vastra seemed to know well what was before them and after closing her eyes she flicked her tongue so fast that Jenny jumped up with fright.  
There was a brief scuffle, but the thing managed to escape despite the impressive ability of the reptile.  
«Do not tell anyone about what happened here.» Vastra turned to the young woman with shortness of breath and frustration in her voice.  
«No, ma'am. You can count on my silence.» Promised Jenny who became more and more curious with every second that passed.  
«But what was it? Do I have to defend myself from that creature?» She asked, hoping to get some answers while Vastra strode down the hall with Jenny trotting behind her like a puppy.  
The Silurian whirled around towards her, suddenly remembering of her presence and, with her hands on the girl's shoulders, looked at her straight in the eye.  
«You have to be careful, Miss Flint, careful that your dreams don't distract you.» Jenny's breath caught in her throat. How did she know of her dreams? She stopped in the hallway while the woman walked away with long strides until she disappeared inside the school.  
Vastra watched the girl from the window of her quarters, it was dangerous for her to have those dreams, she could upset the foundations of that world, and the Silurian was not willing to lose everything. She had to make sure that the shadows in the girl's head remained confined in her subconscious, if they started to come out of her as they had that morning, no one would ever be safe.  
Vastra knew what the girl was important. When the Doctor had brought her there she had refused to meet her, had sent someone else in her place, they were not supposed to ever meet, but this morning the shadow had upset her and had to venture to the cloister against her will. The doctor had warned her to stay away, that was the pact, and she tried to keep it, but it was difficult when the shadows started forming in Jenny's mind, and it would be even more difficult since that morning, now that the girl's scent was stuck in her brain and her self-control had been put to the test. She knew that she should not talk to her again, but her mind could only think of her since that time.  
She looked at the device in her hand, it had a prisoner inside, that little ball flashed a number 1, already too many for her liking, and that morning they had almost become two. She sighed, leaning heavily against the window while her eyes rested again on the small human.  
The more hours passed transforming sunlight into darkness, the more Jenny wanted answers. She had waited expectantly to run into the teacher again in some hallway, but it seemed that she had suddenly vanished into thin air. Jenny had been to the cafeteria and the library but there was no sign of her, so she tried every classroom and the gym but the girl had not been able to find her.  
She knew that to know the exact location of the accommodation of the professors was against the rules, but Jenny Flint did not like rules much, so one day she had followed her teacher to her room in a wing of the institution that she had never seen before, probably masked by some mysterious device, a bit like her friend's TARDIS. It appeared to be just another classroom at the end of the hall on the third floor, but inside there was a long corridor with many doors each with a label with the name of the teacher housed in it.  
And now she was there, in front of the door with the plaque that read, "vice-headmistress Madame Vastra, fighter, grand master of sword" she took a deep breath and knocked on the door. No one answered. She raised her fist again ready to knock when the door was opened by surprise. On the other side, the adult looked at her surprised and a little upset.  
«I know I should not be here.» Jenny mumbled so fast that her own ears struggled to understand what she'd said. «But I thought about what you said to me this morning, about having to talk about my concerns.» Her excuse sounded too ridiculous to her own ears, much as it should appear to those of Madame.  
«You should not even know of this wing.» Jenny had thought she would be scolded, instead Vastra's voice was resigned, as if she already known she'd know of that corridor.  
«I know that you followed me.» Added the adult seeing the confusion on her face.  
«Oh.» She could only respond by blushing.  
«You're not as quiet as you think.» Smiled the teacher turning Jenny into a gibbering mess utterly unable to look at her in the eye.  
«Come in, you need a good cup of tea to face your nightmares.» Said Vastra making way for her in her home.  
The room was large and well furnished. She had a large desk in the centre of the room, full of scribbled sheets of paper, pens and some ultra-modern gadgets that Jenny was not entirely sure she understood what they were. The large window looked out towards one of the two Suns and it lit up the room with a light orange sunset so similar to that which existed on Earth.  
A wicker chair was propped next to a shelf full of books. Some ill shapen volumes losing pages on shelves filled to the brim, threatening to fall and spill their secrets to the ground at the added weight of a single feather. Behind an half opened door Jenny could see the big perfectly made bed.  
Vastra tried to make space on her desk for the teapot tray by piling books that fell to the ground in utter confusion. They both sat down and Jenny could see how even in the simplest of gestures the Silurian could be graceful and elegant.  
«So.» She tried to start the conversation while the older woman handed her a cup of steaming tea, and Jenny was not sure there was even a stove in that room.  
«You have to know that what you see in your dreams is not reality, not yours, so you must not try to remember what you see at night.» Vastra had spoken with clarity even before she could herself ask or make a coherent thought on why she was there.  
«But I want to understand what happens. Why do I have the same dream every night only enriched with one more detail every time?» Jenny did not like that someone would give her orders, not even on what she should or should not dream.  
«If you continue to do things your way you'll put everyone in danger.» The woman's tone was dry and detached, as if reading from a shopping list instead of telling her that the world depended upon her dreams.  
«I can not understand ma'am.» She tried to timidly say.  
«And you should not.» She ordered taking yet another sip of tea and angering Jenny as few others has ever succeeded in.  
«I apologize for my disrespect, but I think I have the right to understand and to know what happened this morning in the cloister garden.» she said resolutely staring into Vastra's eyes and once again the blur of memories running through her brain left her stunned for some time.  
«And it will happen more and more often if you try to remember or understand what you saw this morning. For heaven's sake you must do as I tell you, you have to trust me. Do not follow the darkness.» She tried to convince her earnestly.  
«How can I ma'am, I do not even know you.» Or maybe I do, came to her head, but she forgot that he had once thought those words.  
«Jenny, think, do you think that I could ever lie to you?» Her voice was soft and sweet, hypnotic in a way and she knew she had to trust her.  
The rest of the tea was consumed in silence and after a brief embarrassed farewell Jenny walked to her room.  
That night she again had her nightmare again, it was more vivid and real than ever, instead of helping her, Madame's words had disturbed her even more and that night she found herself panting and sweaty in her bed, her throat ached, she must have screamed during her sleep and was shaking like a leaf. She also remembered words this time: be careful.  
A shadow moved to her right and Jenny immediately thought that there could be no shadows in the darkness, she saw it slip under her door and in no time she was standing with a torch in her hand, awake as if she had never slept.  
She recalled with clarity Vastra's words to forget the shadows but she was Jenny Flint, the girl saved by the Doctor, she felt in her heart that he would have told her to follow her instincts.  
She heard a noise and immediately crouched in the shadows, it seemed that someone else could not sleep that night, but in doing so lost sight of her goal and now she was almost scared to be in those dark corridors at night while the building was deserted. A thud, then another, steps approaching that seemed to belong to something twice her size.  
Her breath came short as she quickly extinguished the torch not to be discovered around the corner and then a light illuminated her face.  
«What are you doing out at this hour of the night, Miss Flint?» The surprised tone of Vastra made her breathe a sigh of relief and she almost laughed at her teacher in her nightgown, and if she had not been absolutely embarrassed to be found in her underwear with an unlit torch in hand in the middle of a deserted corridor, she would have thought that the whole situation was intriguing.  
«I ... I couldn't sleep.» Jenny tried to lie, but she suspected Vastra already knew, in fact the look of the Silurian was unequivocal.  
«I thought I had been clear this afternoon.» The teacher took her by the shoulders and was already bringing her back to her room when something passed beside them. They turned but the shadow was already gone again.  
«Do not look down.» Vastra whispered so softly that Jenny thought she had imagined it.  
«Run!» She heard the teacher screaming as she took her by the hand and dragged her into a mad dash to the upper floors of the building. Jenny struggled to keep up with the pace of those long legs and powerful muscles that she, as a human, didn't even think possible for her to have and when Vastra suddenly stopped she didn't have the time to stop and fell on the other woman who held her effortlessly in her arms. Jenny blushed, Vastra was speechless.  
«From what we are running, damn it!» Asked the frightened young woman.  
«We're not running away, we are chasing.» Informed the adult obsessively looking around and showing off her deadly forked tongue only to stop as still as thunderstruck.  
«It's here.» She whispered more to herself than to Jenny who had no idea what the shadow on the wall really was, but before she could ask anything the shadow passed them quickly, and fled from the window.  
Vastra hissed every possible Silurian curse while Jenny felt much more relieved.  
«Go back to sleep.» Shot the frustrated reptilian.  
«No, I'm not going back to that room alone, I'm sorry but I'd rather walk around the halls until dawn.»  
«Alright, fine.» Grunted Vastra holding her hand and dragging her into her own room.  
«You can sleep here. I'll check that they do not get you.» As relieved as she felt, Jenny was also embarrassed and anxious about sleeping in the headmistress room with her, in that one bed that she had seen through the half open door, with mysterious beings out there who wanted to kidnap her. She thought it would be a pretty hard night.  
Vastra decided to watch over this girl while she slept in her bed, as soon as she touched the pillow she had fallen asleep, so still the Silurian had had to check she was still breathing.  
The pact with the Doctor was clear, and she was determined to honour it, but she could not leave Jenny at the mercy of her fears and nightmares.  
She would kept her at a distance, would not show her feelings, would hide them behind her facade of coldness. Plus there was always the dream that haunted her, that voice that announced disaster.  
She heard the girl move and fidget in her sleep, those damn nightmares again and she could do nothing to help her.  
She fell asleep in her chair next to the bed when it was already day.  
Since that night, and for the remaining nights until the end of summer, Jenny took her pillow every night, and when the lights were all turned off and everyone was sleeping, she walked on tiptoe to the door of Vastra's room who now willingly accepted to see her appear in her door while she read. They had their daily tea ritual, both of them were native of London and were unable to give it up, and then Jenny fell asleep. When Vastra was absolutely certain that the young woman would not notice anything, she'd slip under the covers at her side until the morning.  
The last summer night was no exception, except for a very realistic nightmare that caused Jenny to lose contact with reality.  
Madame was with her through the streets of London and both were running against something that she could not see, there were gunshots, then a bullet had wounded Vastra and she was so worried the reptilian was dying, she felt her voice in tears calling the Silurian, their faces so close together, their breaths mingled, the adrenaline, the cold fog in her bones, the loneliness, the love she felt for the woman that weighed on her with a bleeding arm.  
Her eyes fell open and the face that had inhabited her nightmares until a few seconds before was inches from her own. She narrowed her eyes, she had to kiss her. She moved an inch closer, biting her lip. The feeling of dread was still present in her chest, there were still a few inches between them. Vastra awoke and immediately realized what was about to happen.  
«No.» She shouted full of terror. «Jenny you have to promise me you will not try again.» she said, shaking her by the shoulders, her voice so full of fear that she felt more scared than embarrassed by the situation.  
«I'm sorry.» She mumbled even if she did not feel sorry in the least. She had always had a strange obsession with that woman, their meetings had been seldom and cold for all those years since she had gotten to the academy, yet she had always dreamt of being able to talk to her and be close to her. She did not know why she felt so vulnerable next to Madame Vastra, respect and fear of a creature so unique and dangerous of course, but also something deeper, as if she had known for some time that they were destined for something more. Her roommates teased her because of her fixation, and for as much as se was trying to look inconspicuous, inadvertently her gaze would rest on Vastra every time she passed her by and her head would shot up every time she heard her name. Martha often told her to look for a nice human girl and not waste time behind her fantasies of the Silurian, and as much as she tried there was always something about that strong and severe woman that brought her back in.  
Vastra got out of bed and moved into her studio, sleeping on her chair had never felt more uncomfortable, but she did not want to take the risk of another similar incident.  
That morning, Jenny left the headmistess' room before she woke up, too embarrassed by the incident that had occurred a few hours before.  
Vastra awoke with a start. That voice again, that sentence again:  
«The silence will fall and the girl will be twice lost.» She tried to drive it away from her head and began to prepare, for that day they would all come back from vacation.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I thank everyone who has left a comment here and on my tumblr :)

It had been now been more than a week since the accident and Jenny hadn't been able to speak to Madame Vastra, and not only that, the woman seemed to have disappeared from the Institute even, but the young woman hadn't lost hope. In the evening she would wait near the door of the woman's room, waiting for any sound or movement within the chamber but had had no luck yet, and she began to fear she really couldn't see her anymore.  
Her days passed disarmingly slow. It is to be noted that on Moon 412, the planet they were on, a single day lasted 32 hours and not the Earth's 24h, moreover there were five different seasons, but up until that summer she had never had the chance to get bored.  
She began to neglect her training and her friends began to worry. They saw her come back very late in the evening and during the meals her mind was so busy thinking that almost no one spoke to her.  
«Can you please tell us what has happened to you since we got back?» Amy was always direct and always had the courage to speak on behalf of all, this was a trait Jenny admired of her, she was a role model and a loyal friend.  
«I have nightmares every night. Well in all truth since you've come back, they are less and less.» Explained the girl who certainly did not want to lose her friends since Vastra's disappearance was making her feel more and more alone.  
«Why didn't you say so?» Asked Martha, as sweet and thoughtful as ever.  
«I didn't want you to worry, and they are really going away.» She reassured them and managed for the first time in weeks to smile.  
That same evening she didn't even need to do her usual stalking.  
She was walking down the professors' hallway when a familiar voice, warm and friendly though strangely out of tune, came to her ears.  
The door marked "Dean" had been badly closed and she could hear the two adults inside the office.  
«You know that if it happens again I can not promise she will be saved.» Said the man wearily.  
«I told you I won't let her come near again.» Vastra's voice reached Jenny's ears as if it was a melody.  
«I asked you to let me on this trip so I could remove myself for a bit.» She was surprised that the highest ranked woman in the school was forced to flee because of her, Jenny Flint, the little nobody was now reducing a Silurian to flee.  
«If you're right, her nightmares should have mitigated with your timelines no longer meeting.» He said in the meantime.  
«That's what I hope.» Vastra looked really exhausted and old, she sat down heavily in a chair while the man left the building again.  
Jenny waited anxiously for the man to leave the office, if she was right she would be the first to know who their principal was.  
Jenny heard the tired footsteps of the man and they seemed to come to her from places and times long gone and distant, and she was finally able to look at the principal's office.  
It was space and modernly furnished: a white desk was leaning against the back wall, above it ten different portraits were hung and the eleventh was still lying on the desk. The Doctor had regenerated again.  
The next day Vastra heard a knock at the door of her study, she wasn't expecting a visit and was surprised.  
«Come in.» She said with her head down on the parchment she was drafting.  
«In the absence of higher authority I have to bother you with a thing that happened a few minutes ago in one of the corridors.»  
The reptile immediately recognized the voice of Professor Song, the Doctor's wife was always so friendly that it appeared natural to agree with her.  
«No inconvenience, please let the bully in.» Vastra told her with a nod to the chair in front of her desk and was more than surprised to find that the bully in question was Jenny Flint.  
«I really can not believe you caused a riot in the corridors.» Said the Silurian once they had been left alone.  
«There was no other way to see you, I had to improvise.» Jenny's tone was defiant, but her swollen and bloody lip did not look like that of a winner.  
«Let me see what you've done to yourself.» Snorted the woman, rising from her seat to check on the girl's lip that appeared to hurt tremendously. She ran a finger over the exposed flesh and Jenny was surprised to feel those icy phalanges give such relief.  
«There's no way to keep you out of trouble, is there.» Asked Vastra who gently tried to give as much relief as she could.  
«Not until I figure out what's going on.» Muttered Jenny for as much as her bruised mouth could and the adult looked away for fear that the girl would understand too much.  
«I can not protect you if you get into fights, you know?» She asked, trying to take an authoritative tone.  
«I don't want protection, I want answers. I can defend myself, I have a sword.» Tried to convince the girl pointing at the weapon at her side.  
«From these enemies one cannot be defended with a sword, and I can not let you get expelled from the institute, so this time I will pretend nothing happened, but that can never happen again. Is that clear?»  
The icy look of a predator shock Jenny deeply. She had never seen the woman look so worried, moreover worried about her. And if they had no connection, as Madame Vastra kept insisting on, why was she so worried about her?  
«Last night I dreamt again.» Said the girl before being sent away.  
«It's because of my return.» Admitted the adult, nodding her head wearily.  
«Why do I keep dreaming about us? What link do we have? Why do you always seems to know everything about me while I don't know anything?» Jenny had all those questions and now that she'd started to voice them she felt her head spinning. She hugged the older woman from behind, it came as a instinct, as if her whole life depended on it.  
«I have to know. Why do we seem so close in those dreams? So... intimate?» She looked down in embarrassment, resting her forehead on Vastra's back, they could just be her fantasies even if they seemed so real.  
«Jenny, please. You must forget me, I... I can not love you anymore.» The Silurian ended the sentence with a lump in her throat.  
«Anymore?» A glimmer of hope in Jenny's voice.  
«No, ever. I mean, how could I ever love a useless terrestrial girl? They're just dreams, forget about them.» Vastra's voice became cold and icy, Jenny broke the embrace and fled through the doors.  
Vastra leaned wearily on her desk, she was distraught by her own words. Jenny had to forget her, even hating her if necessary to make sure she was no longer in danger.  
«Will be twice lost. Will be twice lost.» Continued the chant in her head like a broken record. 

The rest of the week was for the young even sadder and more depressing than it had been before the teacher's return, despite her friends' efforts to cheer her up she could not stop thinking about Madame Vastra's sharp words.  
«Why don't you hit on Velasca? I think she has a crush on you.» Suggested Rory during a lunch break, immediately getting hit in the ribs by his girlfriend's well places elbow.  
«Ignore him, Jenny.» Suggested Amy, straining a smile.  
«You know what? You're right.» Said Jenny getting up and slamming the palms of her hands on the table. She walked over to the cute inhabitant of Ulhu who was winking at her.  
Jenny thought that if she could fall in love with a reptile woman, covered from head to toe in green scales, who was probably a hundred years old, she could also love a girl with neon blue pointy ears, empty eyes and dressed, or rather undressed, as Tarzan in the jungle.  
She followed her into the hallway, she knew well that people of Ulhu went straight to the point. As soon as she tried to take her mind off the woman of her dreams, she appeared at the end of the hall in which Velasca already awaited her seductively.  
She was agitated and unsure but thought that if she couldn't have Madame Vastra, she could at least try and make her jealous. Unceremoniously the alien girl kissed her emitting tinkling sounds that to Jenny sounded like those adorable Christmas bells her mother used to hang on their door on the 24th of December.  
The gelatinous texture of the girl's lips was strange and even if Jenny had not expected it, she wasn't put off by it. She let herself be kissed until she saw the teacher leave. Her mouth tasted of blueberries and her head was momentarily confused by the spores that Velasca let out before a coupling, but Jenny wasn't really sure she wanted to get to that with the girl.  
«What do you say I see you tomorrow?» She tried to be affable.  
«How about you see me now?» Was the response of the blue alien, with moves worthy of a seasoned lap dancer. Jenny cursed Rory and his great ideas.  
«I have to study, you know, tomorrow is the big test.» She said sadly.  
Velasca rang her bells again and shook her long mane of black hair and, offended, headed in the opposite direction of Jenny, her hips swaying.  
Jenny dragged herself wearily to the wing where the student dorms were located. She just wanted to shut herself in her room and never having to meet either Vastra or Velasca, but in the end decided not to. In her room were sure to be her friends and if she thought they would leave her alone she was sadly mistaken. They would surely want to know what had happened with the cute alien girl.  
She headed for the nearest empty classroom.  
«I didn't think you liked that kind of girl.» Professor Song's voice made her jump out of the chair she had slumped on.  
«Oh well ... she is very pretty.» Defended herself Jenny who had now realized the other person she had seen standing in the corridor next to Vastra had to have been Mrs Song.  
«Do you remember the lesson on Ulhu we had a while back?» asked the teacher and Jenny sighed quietly, she didn't need to be tested right then. Could it be possible there had to be someone in every room of this place ready to bother her?  
River was waiting for the answer, smiling good-naturedly, but Jenny seemed to have become unable to remember any notion of the book.  
«Their reproductive organs are on their tongue, so if I were you, I wouldn't let her head end up between your legs. Do you understand?» She asked, making Jenny blush up to the tips of her ears.  
«I'm sure you don't want to find yourself looking after Ulhu cubs in five months.» The woman continued.  
«I... I don't... I don't...» She opened and closed her mouth without knowing what to say, looking down unable to look at the figure that had materialized behind the teacher's shoulders.  
River came up to her and whispered so softly that Jenny struggled to hear it «Oh, one last tip, do not let her find you kissing another girl.» She said, winking at her pointing with her wavy blond curls at the woman stationed at the door of the classroom.  
«I don't think she cares.» Said Jenny equally quietly.  
«That's what you think.» Said professor Song in a voice that Jenny couldn't decipher.  
«Well, we better leave before Madame Vastra tries to kill someone today.» River said with a laugh that darkened the already cloudy mood of the Silurian.  
That evening Vastra returned to her rooms exhausted from the long day and yet her body refused to find peace in sleep, the image of Jenny clinging to another made her hurt. It wasn't how this was supposed to be, she was supposed to be her Jenny.  
The Doctor had been cruel to force her to such a ruthless rule, how could a man so sweet do this to her. Jenny could be close to her, could love her from afar, but she could never kiss her, hug her or make love to her again. It was a cruel condemnation, especially when eternal. The tentacle hands of that Ulhu girl that had held the human girl tight... Vastra found herself hissing menacingly without realizing it. She however had realized that she could not impose her own punishment on Jenny. If she really loved her she would have to let her free of loving someone else, especially since she could never reciprocate.  
She rolled all night between the sheets and was unable of sleeping at all.  
Meanwhile, Jenny was having yet another nightmare, although this could be definitely called a dream. She was in a cold and inhospitable place, her sword was clutched in her hands, she suddenly felt a strong grip around her ankle and didn't even have the time to react that she collapsed to the ground.  
«You're unfair!» The crystalline laughter that had replied was so familiar, so full of love.  
«Is my beautiful ape complaining perhaps?» Vastra came out of the shadows to tower over her, kissing her and sliding her hand under her shirt.  
«You keep on being unfair.» Jenny replied with a mischievous smile as she returned the touches and kisses shared lying on the cold floor of the room.  
«And you continue to be the thing that I can not do without.» She replied, and then focused only on her prey, making her moan uncontrollably.  
Jenny woke up with a flushed face, she sat up so quickly that her head started spinning, while the sensation lingering between her thighs had her wide awake. She touched herself just as Vastra had in the dream and had to grit her teeth to keep from being discovered by her roommates who slept blissfully all around her. When she was freed, she raced to the shower and there she stayed a long time, all the while thinking about what she had seen in her dream. "Not do without", was rumbling over in her head as if there were no other word in the world. When she was too tired to stay awake she slipped back into her bed to fall immediately asleep like a stone.  
The next day, still embarrassed by her dream, Jenny did everything to avoid Vastra in the hallways, but the curse she seemed to have of them always running into each other had grown stronger that morning and muttering curses she as reduced to change her direction every single time she saw her at the end of a hallway. As if that were not enough in the opposite direction always seemed to be coming Velasca who had smiled unequivocally at her as soon as she had spotted her. Jenny pretended not to see her, headed at full speed in the direction Madame had just gone. In her rush to escape she had not seen Professor Katelby walking by, and ended up covered in she soft gelatinous consistency of the slug-like teacher. Once again Jenny asked herself the exact value of his jelly planet in the universe.  
«Oh, great.» she cursed, resuming her racing as she felt her school uniform stick to her body. Suddenly she felt a tug from someone inside of a classroom but, before she could protest, she realized that her kidnapper was Vastra.  
The Silurian held her to her own strong body while urging her to keep quite by pressing a finger to her lips. Jenny felt her heart pumping at double the normal pace, while she rested her forehead against the Silurian's neck. The woman's scent got straight to her brains, leaving her dizzy. They waited motionless in that position until the sound of footsteps had completely disappeared.  
«She finally gave up.» The Silurian said, annoyed, and noticing for the first time the state of the girl's uniform and consequently of her clothes.  
Vastra wanted to say something about the state of their clothing, but then realized that it was her fault for having instinctively held Jenny to herself.  
«Come.» She then ordered, only to leave the room with the girl walking behind her unsure on whether or not she was supposed to follow her.  
«I'm supposed to train now, Madam.» She tried to justify her desire to run away from the reptile.  
«And you plan to show up with a uniform in that state? It's against the rules, you must change.»  
«I have no more uniforms, Madame. I can only afford one.» She said trying to sound cocky but actually hiding the shame of her poverty. But Vastra hadn't seemed to take notice of it, and brought her up to her room.  
«Come.» She ordered in no uncertain terms, the girl though initially hesitant could not disobey an order. The last time she had been there she had fled in tears, and now they found themselves back where they had left off.  
Vastra went into her room and began to rummage in a drawer, when she returned she was holding a gray suit identical to the one worn by Jenny.  
«It's been quite some years, but it should still be alright.» She said, handing her a uniform, clean even though a bit faded by the years. Jenny blushed, it was the uniform Vastra had worn when she had attended the school as a student. She thanked her with her eyes down and slipped into the changing room, while putting on her new shirt and pants she could smell the scent of the owner, and hugged herself imagining it was the Silurian filling up the camisole caressing her skin, and sighed. Feeling like a fool, with the vest unhooked she walked out into the room. Vastra tried to hold back her laugh as she took in the sight of the diminutive human inside her uniform.  
«I'm afraid we'll have to fix it up a bit.» She said, starting to coil up the bottom of the pants that were too long for the human. She felt embarrassed, her breasts were more prominent than those of any Silurian and she was afraid she would rip the precious garments if she were to try and button it.  
She let the Silurian and try to fit her the uniform, if it was to break at least it would not have been her fault. Never minding the fact the feeling of Vastra's hands on her as she fumbled with buttons and pulled at cotton was not painful for her in the least. The adult had to give up her task and leave a few buttons undone however.  
«You had a lesson, right?» Asked the adult once she was satisfied with her work.  
«Sword-fighting, to be precise.» Said the young woman.  
«Well, I've brought you here so I suppose I will have to make up for the lesson I had you skip by teaching you myself.» She said to the delight of Jenny and handed her one of her Katana swords while she held the other for herself. They headed to the gym, the girl's heart was in my throat for the emotion, everyone in school would envy her if they knew Madame Vastra in person would teach her.  
«En garde.» She said once they both were ready.  
The young woman, after a moment of disorientation, began to dodge and counter the blows of her opponent, the clash of arms was like music to both. When shortness of breath stopped them for a break, Vastra took the opportunity to explain the techniques and Jenny absorbed every word like a sponge. She did not want to miss anything of that fantastic lesson.  
When they resumed fighting neither of them spared the other. Jenny, who was by now uncaring of her subordinate role, knew that Vastra's weakness was in the low blows, so as soon as the opportunity arose she struck a masterful one, only to stop petrified. How could she know that? In her head words she had never heard Madame say before were loud and clear as day telling her exactly where and how to strike.  
«Are you okay?» Asked the Silurian, worried, and the girl suddenly recovered and forgot her own thoughts. «Yes, we shall continue.» She smiled and plunged back into the fight until accidentally Vastra injured her cheek.  
«It's just a scratch.» Said the human, removing the thin line of blood with her thumb, but the teacher was concerned, Jenny was not paying due attention, she was distracted by her thoughts and this was not right when fighting, so she decided that for that day they had finished the workout.  
«Get to the nurse, Strax. You will heal quickly and will not have any scar.» She said with an authoritative voice and Jenny couldn't help but obey.  
They said goodbye with the promise of another workout together and when she was alone Jenny began to remember something. They were only vague pieces of dialogue, but that was definitely, definitely Vastra's voice. 

_«A very old debt.»_ And then, _«We will need the swords.»_ Her head was spinning. She clung to the wall of the building but even that seemed to be moving under her hands. She thought about calling for help, calling Vastra, she would come if she called. She always came. Even though she didn't know why she had that firm certainty. She opened her mouth trying to emit some sort of sound but their voices mingled in her head, the noise too strong.  
 _«Married.»_  
 _«Solve crimes.»_  
 _«Ape.»_  
 _«Do not help us.»_  
 _«Was I being insensitive?»_  
 _«Do it in one word.»_  
 _«And this is my wife.»_  
Words, words and ever more words that mingled, chased each other, making her as confused as ever. Snow, bulky clothes, space stations. She was sick and would only wish that all that noise would stop confusing her. She fell unconscious in the deserted corridor.


	3. Chapter 3

Vastra was returning to her room when she thought she heard a voice calling her. She turned on herself a couple of times to check where that whisper had come from but there seemed to be no one around. But something told her to go back in the direction from which she had come.  
She have much to do that afternoon, paperwork to fill, staff complaints to deal with, the school's budget, her reason tried to prevail but under her skin she felt something. Eventually she strained to listen and again could hear that whisper, without thinking more on it she went back.  
When Jenny awoke she still felt dazed, it was like having a huge boulder resting on her forehead and although the bed on which she rested was very comfortable and soft, she had the feeling of being ill at ease.  
She narrowed her eyes and the white walls of the infirmary confused her. Her room was a warm cream colour, where had she ended up? How? She moved slightly and an obstacle soon stopped her leg, she tried to open her eyes enough to see Vastra's head resting at her side on the bed beside her.  
Had she been the one to take her to the infirmary? Her attention was suddenly focused on the woman's hand holding hers. Up until that moment she hadn't realized it yet, too dazed from her headache. She wore a ring and Jenny looked at her own hand. They wore the very same jewel, her brain trying to remember something, but try as she might she could not repeat any of the words that had crowded her mind before passing out.  
She realized that it must have been night because artificial lights lit up the room completely, while out the windows she could see darkness. She moved still trying not to wake the reptile but without success. She saw her move more and more with greater awareness until she opened her eyes.  
«Thank you for coming.» Jenny said with a hoarse voice.  
«I do not know what you're talking about.» Replied Madame, glacially jumping up from her chair with her back to the girl's bed.  
«Thank your friends. They were the ones.» She said before leaving Jenny alone in the infirmary. Jenny knew that Vastra was a great warrior capable of big things, she was not afraid of anything, her spirit was indomitable. But she couldn't tell lies. A smile appeared on the human's face while her friends burst into the room, scared but happy to see her awake again.  
«You had us all worried!» The guys were all around Jenny to make sure of her recovery.  
«I'm sorry, it was just a headache.» Apologized the girl not wanting to worry them further.  
The Sontaran made way between them to check the girl's parameters but all seemed to be in the norm.  
«You can go back to your room, human.» He said briskly before returning to his occupation. 

As soon as the guys were out of the infirmary Jenny got dressed and brought her uniform's vest up to her nose to try and catch a whiff of its original owner. When she left the room a figure in the shadows was waiting for her.  
«I'll walk.» Said Jenny again before she could open her mouth. Vastra knew that Jenny hated the dark, for she grew up in the lower levels of New London. At night there was no light down there and scoundrels and thieves could well escape justice and comfortably hid in the night.  
When the sun went down Jenny was afraid of the dark, and this fear had followed her for her entire life.  
«I probably look like a fool to you.» she found the courage to say.  
«Not at all, you're very brave indeed.» They walked in silence for a few minutes even though Jenny had many questions she wanted to ask the Silurian when suddenly something flashed on the wall next to them.  
«Madame?» Jenny grabbed the woman's arm, genuinely afraid that the voices in her head would make her sick again.  
«Yes, I saw.» Whispered Vastra increasing the speed of their steps.  
«We should not be together.» she snorted for the umpteenth time that day. Jenny stopped abruptly holding the arm of the woman who stopped short in surprise.  
«We have to get away.» She tried to start walking but the girl was not of the same opinion.  
«What does all this mean?» She asked, for the umpteenth time.  
«I can not tell you.» Admitted a downcast Vastra.  
«We can not stay here, we can not be together here. You have to forget about me and live your life.» She tried to explain but it did not get the desired effect, on the contrary, rather making Jenny even more stubborn to know the truth.  
«You have a ring. I have one identical too. If it is true that I have to forget you, why do you still wear it?» Jenny was not sure that the ring meant something to them, did not know it, yet something had driven her to try that strategy, and it seemed to work. Vastra looked down at her hand, seemed to see the ring for the first time, looked at it in awe and then look at the girl standing in the hallway. She seemed uncertain about how to proceed. She finally summed up her icy gaze removing the ring and putting it harshly in the palm of Jenny's hand.  
«It does not mean anything.» She lied unable to sustain the honest eyes of the young girl.  
Jenny had wanted to fight back but again something caught her attention lost in the corner of her eye.  
«The wall.» She turned to make sure of her words. «The wall has moved.» she said, holding her hand in that of Vastra out of fear.  
«Do not be silly, the walls can not move.» Tried to convince her the Silurian.  
«I thought I was wrong before passing out, it was due to my headache, but now I've seen it again.» Jenny was very sure of what she had seen and if Vastra did not believe her, she would prove it .  
She put the palm of her free hand on the wall that with a "blob" moved like a soap bubble. Both eyes widened in disbelief.  
«This world will not last long.» Murmured Vastra forgetting for a second that Jenny should never have discovered it. But maybe now their closeness, their affection, was manifesting in such ways that the paradox was too great to stand still.  
«We must find Professor Song.» Said the woman reptile dragging the girl who still held her hand tightly in hers.  
They ran at breakneck speed for flights of stairs, opening one door after the other and calling loudly out for River Song of whom seemed to be no trace.  
«It seems that they are all gone.» Murmured Vastra removing a device from her pocket. Jenny watched spellbound as she pointed the strange contraption in all directions.  
«This is impossible.» She said the woman in disbelief.  
«What happened?» Asked the young woman more and more scared.  
«According to this device there is no living thing around us. But this is simply impossible.» Told her the Silurian with a disbelieving chuckle. But maybe it was them who were mistaken because the school was truly transforming with each second into abandoned ruins filled with ghosts.  
Jenny trembled and Vastra hugged her.  
«We need to keep on moving or they will catch us.» She whispered bestowing a light caress on the girl's head, who did seemed no longer able to speak out of fright.  
They began to walk while Jenny's mind started to be crowded again by faces, voices and words. She staggered and not to end up absorbed by the wall, she clung to the teacher.  
«Come on.» She urged her on helping her to walk, but every step seemed harder and harder to take. Her breathing was laboured and confused voices did nothing but slow down her senses. Now Vastra walked fully supporting Jenny's weight and having therefore to slow down their escape.  
The Silurian found herself wondering why did monkeys had to be so easily hurt? Their brains were so complex and yet so easy to manipulate. A few memories that she shouldn't even be having were enough to slow her down and make it impossible for them to escape.  
«Mammals.» She whispered annoyed by her inability to be able to save both of them from that horrible situation. Something clicked in the mind of the girl.  
«Oh thank you.» She said without even thinking it.  
«Have I been ...» «insensible again.» Jenny finished the sentence for her even before the Vastra had thought it.  
«How did you ...?» The idea that Jenny was remembering more than she was allowed to scared her out of her mind, but still not quite as much as seeing the girl falling on the floor, her head clutched in her hands.  
«It's killing me.» She said in a whisper as she clutched her temples impulsively.  
«Do not try to remember, by the goddess. The more you do, the more shadows will arise. Stop it, stop it now!» Tried to convince her the Silurian in a panic.  
«I can not, I can not.» A thousand images running through her mind, seeing her so distressed Vastra lifted her dead weight and dragged her toward the hallways, running at breakneck speed as the shadows behind them gained ground. The reptile realized too late that they had embarked on the road led to a dead end, meanwhile Jenny had continuous flashbacks: herself dressed as a Victorian maid, the doctor who teased for having defended her mistress from a joke, Vastra who taught her to read and write. Their first kiss, the arrival of Strax, their marriage, the TARDIS and the engine failure, the Silurian holding her close to herself as she swore to love her forever. The new and unknown world created artificially.  
Jenny's eyes widened while Vastra tried to push back the shadows that now enveloped them completely. She knew what she had to do, whether Vastra liked it or not.  
She held tightly to her and kissed her.  
The shut their eyes tightly upon hearing the roar the shadows made as they were sucked back in the spacetime, the crack was spreading more and more while they clung to each other to not be absorbed, all the while squeezing their eyes to not be blinded by the dazzling light that now surrounded them and only when the roar died out around them, and everything went back to its place, they parted opening their eyes. They were back again at number 13 Paternoster Row, London, in the cold of February, 1893, but the happiness of having escaped lasted Vastra but very little time for she was hit in the face by a well-placed backhanded slap by Jenny.  
«How dare you? How could you even think of doing this to me?» She said through tears unable to contain her anger.  
«Jenny ...» The reptile was rubbing her cheek looking down guiltily.  
«All this time without being able to remember, without living my real life.» The human was more furious than Vastra had ever seen her in her life.  
«I only did it to protect you.» She tried to justify herself sadly.  
«Well you didn't have the right. A life without you is not worth living.» Admitted the young woman and then literally threw herself into the arms of her beloved.  
When linking their fingers they felt something in the palm of Jenny's hand. They looked between their fingers where Vastra's wedding ring was resting safe. The reptile handed her hand to her wife, and it was promptly re-adorned with the precious jewel.  
«Forgive me Jenny...» She could only whisper before kissing her wife softly.  
An embarrassed cough caught their attention.  
«Everything is back in place, I think I should just leave.» The Doctor was already with one foot in the TARDIS ready to leave the house and the two women.  
«Doctor, wait!» Intimated Vastra. «How can we be here if we were in the TARDIS during the solar storm?» She asked, confused.  
«Well, in all truth, the explanation is ...» Gestured the man who was trying to give a logical explanation to everything.  
«Just one kiss and it all goes back as if nothing had ever happened?» Asked Jenny intruding.  
«Oh no, please, we're not in a fairy tale.» He laughed embarrassedly, yet there was something that eluded him.  
«You were in a temporal limbo and sooner or later it would have broken, I just did not know when.»  
«It was all a lie? I suffered needlessly for weeks?» Asked Vastra, ready to grab the Doctor by the collar of his shirt.  
«Oh no no, absolutely, if had not been for your perseverance and strength the TARDIS would not have had enough time to repair itself and restore you to this timeline.»  
«But where were we exactly?» Asked Jenny while she, with a gentle touch of the hand, moved the Silurian's hand away from the vicinity of the Doctor.  
«No one will ever know for sure. In a dream? In your mind? In a parallel dimension?» The man scratched his head, unable to give himself a logical explanation.  
«And how come we are now at home?» Asked Vastra trying to find logic in everything.  
«I think the desire for Jenny to come home has been heard from the TARDIS. Her desire was so strong that it was heard.» Explained the Doctor with a smile.  
The awkward silence was broken by noises coming from behind one of the sofas in the drawing room.  
Incomprehensible gibberish followed by colourful utterances and the threat to declare war to the sun, made it known to the three of them that Strax was safe and sound. The Doctor helped him to his feet, and after the first few moments of bewilderment the Sontaran was happy to find himself in his home. So to celebrate he decided to start designing a moat to build around the house.  
Jenny retired to the kitchen determined to prepare a nice hot tea for all of them, after all that fuss she needed to go back to her little daily rituals.  
«We will continue to remember what happened?» Asked Vastra already realizing that some details of the strange experience had started to become blurry and far.  
«Probably in a few days you will think that it was just a strange dream, maybe Jenny will forget it altogether.» he admitted knowing the workings of the human brain to ensure self protection.  
«I was really hoping to be able to start again in that world so perfect, instead I could not protect her, Doctor.» Vastra admitted, defeat in her voice kept low not to be heard from her wife.  
«From what, my old friend?» Asked the man rubbing his hand on the woman's arm.  
«For months now I've been having the same nightmare night after night. I find myself in a dark place, I feel the loneliness, the cold and then that voice...» Her lost gaze worried the Doctor who tried not to show it.  
«And what does this voice say?» She asked, trying to sound light hearted.  
«The silence will fall and the girl will be twice lost» She repeated like a chant.  
«The future can be changed.» He reminded her, smiling.  
«Go to her, give her a kiss and be happy. Do not live in constant expectation of something bad that probably will never happen.» He advised her.  
«Maybe you're right. But I could not bear to lose her.» Admitted Vastra just before Jenny came back into the living room with a tray full of steaming cups.  
«You were running away again Doctor?» Asked the girl by placing a quantity of tea and biscuits that made the man reconsider his departure.  
«Well maybe I could stop for a cup of tea, if those cookies are still edible.» He considered amused and showed no embarrassment in serving himself.  
«We came back exactly to the time when I came to pick you up, apparently.» Said the Doctor biting into a scone.  
And for the rest of the afternoon they talked of frivolities while in their minds the memories became more and more distant. 

The end.


End file.
